Meet the Beatles, again.
Apple Corps Ltd. is bringing the Fab Four into the mid-2020s with a comprehensive revisiting of The Beatles Anthology, the multimedia trove that included music albums, a docuseries and later a coffee-table book.
A remixed version of the band’s triple-Grammy-winning 1995 single “Free as a Bird,” a Top 10 hit in the U.S. and UK, is out today, and other elements of the package will be available in the fall. Key among them is 1995’s The Beatles Anthology docuseries, which has has been restored and remastered. It includes a new closing Episode 9 featuring unseen behind-the-scenes footage of Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr coming together between 1994 and 1995 — 15 years after John Lennon’s death — to work on The Anthology and reflecting on their shared life as The Beatles.
Instead of the usual narrator and talking heads, The Anthology series features the erstwhile moptops candidly telling their own story, with all its complexities and contradictions. The docuseries’ restoration was overseen by Apple Corps’ production team, working with Peter Jackson’s Wingnut Films & Park Road Post teams along with Giles Martin, who has created new audio mixes for the majority of the featured music.
It will stream exclusively on Disney+ in November.
The reissues also include a 25th anniversary edition of The Beatles Anthology book, due in October, and the restored albums — originally released in 1995 and 1996 and now expanded to including a fourth volume. Arriving on November 21, the music collection will sprawl over 12 LPs and eight CDs, with digital versions also available.
Here are release dates for the various Beatles Anthology components:
August 21:
“Free as a Bird” remixed single and restored music video
October 14:
The Beatles Anthology book 25th Anniversary Edition
November 21:
The Beatles Anthology albums restored and expanded to four volumes: 12-LP vinyl, 8-CD and digital collections
November 26:
The Beatles Anthology documentary series streams on Disney+, featuring new Episode 9
